CUI and NIT from the USA 2026: How to Look Up or Activate Your Guatemalan ID Numbers Remotely

Diaspora TL;DR: If you only need to look up your CUI or NIT, you can do it from the USA in 30 seconds for free with your 13-digit CUI at portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/consulta-cui-nit/. Activating the SAT Agencia Virtual for the first time historically requires a presential visit in Guatemala (or a notarized special power of attorney at the consulate). DPI renewal does work at any Guatemalan consulate in the US. Initial DPI issuance with first-time biometric capture still typically requires traveling.

This guide is for Guatemalans living in the United States who need to resolve their CUI or NIT without traveling. If you’re still in Guatemala or your case is more general, see the main CUI-NIT guide (Spanish only — diaspora content is the natural English entry point here).

Written by the Guatemala Life team, based in Guatemala City.

CUI vs NIT — why diaspora confuses them

This is the part that trips up almost every Guatemalan who’s been in the US for years. The numbering system changed in 2025 and the old terminology is still circulating in family chat groups.

Why the confusion is so common in diaspora:

• Many Guatemalans left under the old cedula de vecindad system (pre-2008) and never got a DPI. For them “CUI” is a new term entirely.
• The old 7-9 digit NIT is the number people memorized 15 years ago — and it still works.
• Since March 2025 the system unified both: if you’re Guatemalan with a DPI, your CUI automatically works as your NIT. Some call this combined ID “CUINIT.”
• Guatemalan companies, banks, and offices ask for “your CUI” and “your NIT” interchangeably.

Practical rule: If you have a DPI issued after 2008, your 13-digit CUI works for everything. If you only have an old NIT card, that number also works. If you have neither, you’ll first need to get a DPI through the consulate — or sort out a fe de edad if your birth certificate doesn’t exist either.

Looking up your CUI from the USA

The CUI is issued by RENAP and printed on your DPI. There is no public “look up CUI by name or email” portal — RENAP personal data is not handed out that way for security reasons. To get or verify your CUI from the US you have three paths:

Option 1: You have your DPI in hand (the most common case)

Look at the front of the DPI, below your photo. The 13-digit number in XXXX XXXXX XXXX format is your CUI. That same number works as your NIT since 2025. That’s it, no portal needed.

Option 2: You lost your DPI but you’re registered with RENAP

You need to request a CUI constancy or DPI replacement through one of these channels:

• Nearest Guatemalan consulate (with prior appointment). Almost all US consulates have a RENAP module and can issue a CUI constancy or replace a DPI.
• Notarized special power of attorney to a family member in Guatemala who handles it on your behalf at the corresponding RENAP office.
• Call RENAP at +502 2415-7000 to confirm the exact procedure for the consulate where you’ll handle it (some require online appointments, others phone).

Data they typically ask for replacement:

• Any photo ID (valid passport recommended)
• Full names of both your parents
• Your birth certificate data (book, folio, partida, municipality, department of registration)
• Photo of your old DPI if you have it (even expired or damaged)
• Payment in the consulate’s local currency

Option 3: You never had a DPI (old cedula de vecindad or no registration)

This is the most complex situation. Your CUI does not exist yet. Steps: (1) verify whether your birth certificate exists in RENAP — request it at the consulate or via family; (2) if no birth certificate exists, complete a fe de edad (notarial or judicial process); (3) request initial DPI issuance — often requires presential biometrics in Guatemala, though some consulates with biometric equipment can do it remotely.

Looking up your NIT from the USA

Unlike the CUI, the NIT does have a public lookup portal that works from any country with no barriers.

Quick lookup (no password)

1. Go to portal.sat.gob.gt/portal/consulta-cui-nit/
2. Type your 13-digit CUI with no spaces or dashes
3. Click “Consultar”
4. The system shows your linked NIT, registered name, and tax status

Possible results:

If you need more detail (with login)

To see your full tax history, filed returns, issued invoices, or solvency status, log in to the Agencia Virtual SAT with your username and password. There you can download your inscription constancy and your digital NIT card.

If you never had a NIT and need to register from abroad

Historically, registering a NIT required a presential visit to SAT. As of 2024-2025, SAT enabled a simplified process: if you’re a Guatemalan citizen with a CUI, your NIT automatically exists linked to your DPI since Resolution SAT-DSI-393-2025. No separate registration needed.

What you might still need to activate:

• A specific tax regime (Small Contributor, Simplified Optional, General). This still requires formal declaration and can be done in Agencia Virtual if you already have a user, or by power of attorney at a SAT branch.
• Registration as service exporter (common for Guatemalans in the US who invoice Guatemalan clients or provide remote services and declare in Guatemala). Requires specific inscription.
• Separate corporate NIT if you’re opening a Guatemala-registered company.

For non-Guatemalans (foreigners), the process is different: you have to request a NIT with passport and proof of address at a SAT branch. Full detail in How to get a NIT.

If your DPI is expired or lost

The DPI is the document that contains the CUI and is the key to nearly everything. Expired or lost, you’ll run into problems with Guatemalan banks, remittances, invoicing, and consular procedures.

Good news: renewal works at any Guatemalan consulate in the US.

General steps (variable by consulate):

1. Book an appointment at the nearest consulate (LA, NY, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Phoenix, DC, Atlanta, Silver Spring, San Francisco).
2. Bring: expired DPI (or loss report), valid passport, recent birth certificate, proof of US address.
3. Pay at the consulate (around Q137 equivalent in USD).
4. Photo and signature capture (most consulates have RENAP equipment).
5. Pick up the new DPI in 4-8 weeks.

Often combined with passport renewal: Renew Guatemalan Passport from the USA.

Important note: If your CUI already exists, the number does not change when you renew the DPI. It’s the same CUI for life.

Activating SAT Agencia Virtual from the USA

The SAT Agencia Virtual is the portal where all tax procedures happen (returns, FEL invoices, constancies, payments). It’s essential if you’re going to handle any SAT business without traveling.

If you never had a user

Historically, initial creation of the Agencia Virtual user requires a presential visit to a SAT branch in Guatemala with the DPI. For diaspora, two practical paths:

1. Notarized special power of attorney at a Guatemalan consulate. With that power, a family member goes to the nearest SAT branch, creates your user, and hands it over. The initial password is changed online as soon as you log in.
2. Wait until your next trip to Guatemala and use the opportunity to set it up. Takes 30-45 minutes at any SAT branch with your physical DPI.

Some profiles (like service exporter) have enabled 100% online registration since 2024, but the general case still requires a visit.

If you had a user and forgot the password

This you can solve from the US:

1. Go to agenciaVirtual.sat.gob.gt and click “Forgot password.”
2. Enter your username or NIT.
3. The system sends the recovery link to your email registered with SAT.
4. Follow the link, set a new password, and log in.

If the registered email is no longer yours: call SAT 1550 from the US with your DPI in hand. They’ll ask security questions. If you can’t verify yourself, the only way out is presential or via power of attorney.

If your user is locked from failed attempts

It usually unlocks automatically in 24 hours. If not, call 1550 or do a presential reset.

Common pitfalls from abroad (and how to avoid them)

These are the problems Guatemalans in the US most commonly report using Guatemalan government portals. Most have simple technical fixes.

“The portal won’t load / shows an error / spins forever”

• Try in a clean browser (Chrome, Edge, or Firefox in incognito).
• Turn off the VPN — SAT and RENAP portals don’t officially geoblock the US, but some commercial VPNs route through IPs flagged by anti-fraud filters. Without VPN it usually resolves (see footnote).
• Clear cache and cookies for sat.gob.gt or renap.gob.gt.
• Try a different device — aggressive plugins (ad blockers, NoScript) break the forms.

“They want an SMS code but my number is Guatemalan”

• Keep your Guatemalan SIM active with WhatsApp and minimum credit — many leave it in an old phone at home.
• Ask a family member in Guatemala to receive the SMS and forward it via WhatsApp.
• Switch your 2FA method to email inside your SAT profile if it’s enabled.
• You can change the registered phone to a US number from Agencia Virtual once logged in — but the chicken-and-egg is that to get in the first time you’d already need the SMS.

“I want to pay but my US card is rejected”

SAT payment portals integrate with Guatemalan banks. US-issued cards are frequently rejected by AVS validation. Solutions:

• Pay from a Guatemalan bank account online (Banco Industrial, Banrural, BAC, BAM, G&T).
• Use Wise to fund your GT account and pay from there.
• Ask a family member to pay from Guatemala and reimburse via remittance.

“My name in the SAT system doesn’t match my DPI”

• Almost always because SAT has an old version of your name (pre-marriage, before reordering of surnames). Updated via Agencia Virtual under “Personal data”. If you can’t log in, requires a visit or power of attorney.

When you DO have to travel to Guatemala

Cases where consulate and notarized power of attorney won’t solve it:

1. Initial DPI issuance when you’ve never had one and your consulate doesn’t have working biometric equipment.
2. Correction of badly captured fingerprints — RENAP typically requires presential biometrics.
3. DPI replacement with serious registry inconsistencies (name misspelled for decades, wrong parent names) requiring judicial or notarial rectification.
4. Initial activation of SAT Agencia Virtual for some specialized tax regimes that don’t accept apoderado.
5. Opening a new bank account, property deeds, vehicles under your name — Guatemalan banks require physical signature.

Practical recommendation: If you’ve been out for more than 5 years and still have active ties (family, property, possible inheritance), a trip every 2-3 years to “align papers” tends to be cheaper than fighting everything through consulate and power of attorney.

Related procedures

• CUI-NIT — main lookup guide — full portal detail and the 2025 unification (Spanish content).
• Print RTU from the USA — to download your SAT inscription constancy from abroad.
• Renew Guatemalan Passport from the USA — sibling procedure often done on the same consulate trip.
• Agencia Virtual SAT — full guide — what’s possible once you’re logged in.
• SAT hub — all Guatemala tax procedures.
• RTU explained — the Unified Tax Registry, base of your fiscal identity.
• Diaspora resources for Guatemalans abroad — hub for procedures from outside Guatemala.
• How to get a NIT — for non-Guatemalan foreigners.
• Fe de Edad — if you don’t have a birth certificate.
• Methodology — how we verify each procedure data point.

Official links

• SAT — CUI-NIT Lookup
• Agencia Virtual SAT
• RENAP — Official portal
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Guatemalan consulates in the US
• SAT line from the US: +502 2329-7070 (replaces 1550 when calling from an international number)

Technical note on “IP geofence”: SAT and RENAP official portals are designed to work internationally and the Agencia Virtual is explicitly promoted as accessible from any country. Loading errors reported by some users from the US are typically caused by commercial VPNs sharing IPs flagged by anti-fraud filters, aggressive ad blockers, or expired sessions — not by an official geographic block. If you have persistent problems without VPN, contact SAT 1550 or the corresponding consulate.

Verified: May 16, 2026. Last update of the CUI-NIT lookup portal: April 2026.